Natural Resource Economics Research Articles

Natural Resource Governance and Conflicts in Nigeria

This study investigates the governance of natural resources to promote socio-economic and people-centred development in Nigeria. The paper relied on secondary sources of data, focusing on the three main variables: conflict, politics and power. Nigeria is endowed with abundant natural resources, which accounts for about 65% of total tax revenue, driven mostly by an increase in export earnings from the oil and gas sector. Most resource-related conflicts are implicated by the inequitable distribution of benefits accruing to resources. The State and elite, in alliance with foreign corporations, enjoy the benefits of the exploited resource. Host-communities face the debilitating negative environmental impacts and the discrepancy between indigenous traditional laws and state laws that define ownership of natural resources in a federal but unitary state has led to controversial relations among states in Nigeria. The paper took an extensive look at the politics of natural resource extraction and governance in Nigeria and explored the themes through which the causative relationship between natural resources and conflicts can be differentiated. It noticed the political economy of natural resources as embedded within the broader global power relations. The paper concludes that regulation must be anchored to elements of good governance, especially democracy, rule of law, transparency and accountability, as well as efficient and equitable management of resource revenues.

Natural Resource Governance and Conflict in Nigeria

<i>Background</i>:<i> </i>Nigeria is blessed with abundant natural resources, which accounts for over 65% of her total tax revenue, motivated mostly by an upsurge in export earnings from the oil and gas sector. Most of the resource- based conflicts are caught up by the unfair and inequitable distribution of benefits accruing to resources. The government and some acclaimed elite, in alliance with foreign corporations, enjoy the gains and benefits of the exploited resource. Meanwhile, the host-communities face the devastating and undesirable environmental impacts with discrepancy between indigenous traditional laws and state laws that define ownership of natural resources in a federal structure has led to controversial relations among states in Nigeria. <i>Objectives:</i> The paper took an extensive look at the politics of natural resource governance in Nigeria and explored broadly the themes through which the causative link between natural resources and conflicts can be distinguished. The study further explores the role of good governance of natural resources in promoting socio-economic and people-centred development in Nigeria. <i>Methods: </i>The paper relied solely on secondary sources of data, focusing on the three main variables: conflict, politics and power. <i>Results:</i> The study revealed among others that the political economy of natural resources as embedded within the broader global power relations has not been properly explored by the Nigerian government. <i>Conclusion:</i> The paper therefore concludes that regulation must be attached to reflect on the principles of good governance, especially democracy, rule of law, transparency and accountability, as well as efficient and equitable management and distribution of resource revenues.

Potential Economic Value of Water Resource Sustainability for Sustainable Environment: A Case Study in South Sumatra, Indonesia

Erosion in coal mining land causes water quantity and quality depletion and inadequate drinking water resources for surrounding communities, making water resources unsustainable. Meanwhile, reclamation reduces erosion but cannot restore water depletion optimally; thus, these resources remain unsustainable. These resources remain unsustainable. The objectives of this study were to develop a water resource sustainability concept for a sustainable environment by analyzing the potential economic value and, secondly, to calculate the water resource value due to erosion, reclamation, and domestic and economic importance, of recycling efforts. The method used in this study was the Expanded NPV. Furthermore, the total potential economic value of water resources loss resulting in unsustainability was IDR 1,137,621,671,375 or IDR 1.14 trillion. In contrast, the potential economic value of depleted water utilization for drinking was IDR 2,298,339,797,000 or IDR 2.3 trillion. Therefore, this utilization provides a potential economic value worth IDR 1.16 trillion for the resources’ sustainability in the TAL area of PTBA. The study found and recommended depleted water utilization for drinking as a suitable method to replace water resources lost due to erosion and community drinking water resource loss and to discover a sustainable environment’s sustainability concept. In addition, the study formulates environmental economics as a new mining science related to natural resource economics and mining for sustainable water resources and the mining environment.

РЕКОМЕНДАЦИИ ДЛЯ ОЦЕНКИ ЭКОСИСТЕМНЫХ ПРОГРАММ ПО ВОССТАНОВЛЕНИЮ ЛЕСНЫХ ЛАНДШАФТОВ

The concept of forest landscape restoration is a world-renowned approach to harmonizing national programs for the development of a green economy and sustainable management of natural capital resources. Despite the benefits, one of the obstacles to the large-scale implementation of a forest landscape restoration program is the lack of a comprehensive cost-benefit analysis, which can be a powerful tool for policymakers and potential investors to increase interest in investing in forest landscape restoration programs. The main objective of the review is to describe a practical methodology for rapidly, realistically and reliably assessing the economic impacts of forest landscape restoration. The authors describe a methodological framework that helps stakeholders develop an individual tool for making investment decisions. The proposed structure consists of a simple four-step process. It provides guidance and tools for each stage. This methodology will raise awareness among investors and policymakers, as well as development professionals working in the field of forestry. Cost-benefit analysis as a decision-making tool is well studied, but the report should help to fully take into account the benefits of forest landscape restoration programs and convey them to a wider audience. The methodology is applicable for users with different needs and access to resources.

“Women and changing sociolegal landscapes in Rwandan mining formalization”

Rwanda has closed artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) in favor of larger corporate enterprises over the last decade. The government and companies argue that his increase in state legal regulation improves outcomes for the estimated 50,000 women near mining sites, including improved protection from discriminatory employment and gender-based violence. This study uses a framework of feminist critical legal pluralism (CLP) to explore how formalization impacts the sociolegal landscapes rural women navigate in extractive communities. Drawing directly from semi-structured interviews, focus group discussions, and participant observations, and indirectly from social mapping workshops, the qualitative data from six mine sites were analyzed in NVivo using content analysis. The results demonstrate how formalization changes the justice pathways for women to remedy their mining-related grievances. The key findings indicate that women perceive mining companies not to be regulated by law but to be creators of law and conflict resolution networks, with companies termed here as “legal architects” and “legal managers.” Thus, formalization has not necessarily given women better justice access for mining-related conflicts. Instead, it has altered their challenges from localized stigma and traditional norms with local leaders to unclear conduits vis-a-vis formal mining management. Considering the historical, geographical, and economic dynamics of this sociolegal change, this article contributes to the growing scholarship on the connections between natural resource economies and localized traditional authorities in post-colonies. It calls attention to the dynamic and delicate everyday legalities that determine behaviors and power dynamics in extractive spaces. It argues that such sociolegal realities must be mainstreamed in formalization policy and implementation to better account for rural women.

Latin American Extractivism: Dependency, Resource Nationalism, and Resistance in Broad Perspective

Latin American Extractivism: Dependency, Resource Nationalism, and Resistance in Broad Perspective

Complexifying urban expansion: an exploratory, gradient-based approach

Opportunities for innovation in urban expansion research abound given the emergence of longitudinal and spatially explicit data. Scholars now use a broad array of data when analyzing expansion, yet the conceptual approach remains limited. Toward this end, this work extends conceptualization of expansion beyond the relatively simple economic approach that emphasizes population growth and income. Instead, insights from social–ecological theory—focusing on the heterogeneous, nonlinear, and hierarchical nature of cities—provide a pathway for specifying urban expansion gradients. The paper demonstrates how a spatial gradient model that considers urban, periphery, and exurban subregions complexifies the urban regional phenomenon, yielding crucial insights into the processes that drive expansion. Exploratory quantitative analysis of the National Land Cover Database (NLCD) provides a prototype implementation, testing the utility of the gradient-based approach for all urban regions in the contiguous United States. Modeling covers both the full study period, 2001–16, and as separate 2001–11 and 2011–16 panels, assessing how relationships change over time. Results show that social–demographics, land use and transportation, regional economics, and physical drivers exhibit diverse impacts across the expansion gradient and over time. This work concludes with a call for scholars to deepen the approach presented here before conducting predictive or confirmatory modeling. <em><strong>Policy relevance</strong></em> Urban expansion takes many forms and understanding those different forms can benefit decision-makers. Rather than a policy framework that treats urban growth as a regional phenomenon, a gradient-based approach is necessary, one that targets how expansion processes operate differently in urban, peripheral, and exurban subregions. By disaggregating the region, this research provides new insights into expansion dynamics such as how higher incomes and GDP growth tie to infill development; concentration of immigrants coincides with reduced land consumption across the gradient; age-based locational preferences yield compact growth; regions with greater natural resource economies and warmer temperatures have more exurban expansion; and steep slopes and open water constrict peripheral expansion. This kind of information allows for different institutions—from regional planning authorities to urban municipal governments to small town mayors—to address the drivers of expansion through more targeted and differentiated policy mechanisms, while also having more information to consider unintended consequences.

Antecedents and Origins of The Circular Economy Research Area in The History of Economic Thought

As the circular economy is gaining momentum in the UN Decade of Action for Sustainable Development, recent years have witnessed a growing interest in the history of environmental economic thought. Although the iterative development of the circular economy concepts and schools of thought, including “spaceship economics”, industrial ecology, performance economy, Cradle to Cradle philosophy, and biomimicry, dates back only to the 1970s, today’s circular framework is the product of many centuries of economic theory. While most of the research on the topic has been sporadic and fragmented, the present study takes a holistic approach to provide a comprehensive chronological survey. Based on retrospective analysis, the paper reviews the key relevant economic ideas from the 16th century onwards that contributed to the theoretical understanding of the circular economy. It sheds light on the legacy of the classical tradition, particularly the physiocratic school and the Malthusianism, and the neoclassical theory, including the establishment of environmental economics as a separate subdiscipline and the evolution of ecological economics, among other things, which shaped an integrated circular economy approach in a postparadigmatic period. The research findings suggest that the emergence of modern environmental and natural resource economics in the 1960s–70s as well as the rise of green growth thinking in a diversified policy discourse after the 2008– 2009 Great Recession facilitated the development of the circular economy field and led to the promotion of the circular economy within the global sustainability context since the 2010s. Highlighting the antecedents and origins of the circular economy research area, along with the rationale behind the adoption of a restorative and regenerative economic system, these results incorporate the circular framework into the body of existing knowledge and help to capture the essence of the circular economy.

Ciclo de Deming y Balanced Scorecard para el cumplimiento de estándares de acreditación en la universidad pública peruana

This article proposes the use of various tools articulated for self-evaluation for accreditation purposes, applied in the model of the National System of Evaluation, Accreditation and Certification of Educational Quality (SINEACE) of Peru, involving in a joint and complementary waythe Advancement Scale, the Deming Cycle and the Balanced Scorecard (BSC), and its application in the Doctoral Program in Economics of Natural Resources and Sustainable Development of the Universidad Nacional Agraria La Molina (PDERN y DS -UNALM). The Deming Cycle consists of the processes: plan, do, verify and act, with the participation of stakeholders, and the BSC incorporates strategic perspectives, at financial, internal, innovation and learning, and customer level, allowing to evaluate the strategic objectives. In the PDERNy DS case study, evidence is provided with the level of self-assessment achieved, which corresponds to the SINEACE level of advancement scale of 9.9with respect to the 10 levels to be achieved, which implies being in a position to present the study programfor national accreditation.

Pengembangan BUMDES Bancangan Melalui Budidaya Maggot BSF Sebagai Alternatif Pakan Ternak

The purpose of establishing BUMDES is to encourage and accommodate all activities and increase community income, both those that develop according to local customs and culture as well as economic activities that are submitted to be managed by the community through central and local government programs or projects. as a village effort, the establishment of a Village-Owned Enterprise is really to maximize the potential of the village community, be it the economy of natural resources or human resources. however, development in the economic field of natural resources and human resources has not been carried out as much as possible. this is due to the difficulties experienced by the BUMDes managers who have not been optimal in maximizing the potential of the village of Bancangan, Sambit, Ponorogo. Armed with human resource assets in the form of BUMDes management who have qualified capabilities to carry out this activity in the long term. As well as the problem regarding household waste that has not been resolved, then the cultivation of BSF maggot as an animal feed saver is feasible. After the cultivation of maggot BSF, the BUMDes management can move to take advantage of the potential of nature and human potential to be developed.

Personalizing Environmental Awareness through Smartphones Using AHP and PROMETHEE II

Environmental awareness refers to the understanding of the importance of protecting the natural environment. Digital technologies can play an important role in raising awareness of environmental issues. In view of this compelling need, this paper presents a novel way to promote environmental awareness with the use of smartphones. To achieve this, it employs personalization techniques, and specifically the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) and PROMETHEE II. In more detail, the mobile application incorporates a user model that holds information, such as location (city, mountain, sea, etc.), age, interests, needs and indicators of waste management, economy of natural resources, general environmental protection, and biodiversity. At the first interaction of the user with the application, the user model is initialized; then, the system uses AHP and PROMETHEE II to provide personalized advice to users in order to help them raise their environmental awareness. The criteria, used to evaluate environmental advice, include the current location, living environment, habits, interests, needs, age, and seasonal suitability of the user. The novelty of this paper is the combination of AHP and PROMETHEE II for personalizing the environmental awareness using mobile technologies, taking into consideration the user profile as well as the surrounding area where the user is at the time that the advice is provided. The presented application has been evaluated regarding the system usefulness and environmental awareness. The findings indicate the high acceptance of this approach and its positive impact on users’ attitude and behavior with regard to reducing their environmental footprint.

Valuating Natural Resources and Ecosystem Services: Systematic Review of Methods in Use

The relevance of an ecosystem approach, which involves addressing ecosystems as an object of research, economically evaluating ecosystem services, and including the existing variety of evaluation methods and their classifications for the estimation of nature’s value, was the focus of this study. So, the aim of the current research is to develop an evaluation theory by refining approaches and methods for the economic evaluation of natural resources and ecosystem services. The research object was the evaluation practice of the former USSR, Russia, and countries outside Russia. Employing research methods of systematization and content analysis with evolutionary and ecosystem approaches, about three hundred scientific papers have been the subject of this review. The study (1) reveals the evolutionary changes in economic evaluation approaches and methods of natural resources and ecosystem services; (2) discloses the features of the existing classifications of economic evaluation methods; and (3) offers the author’s classification, which is based on the five classification criteria: evaluation type, evaluation approaches, evaluation character (nature), evaluation methods, and market discourse. We believe that understanding the development of scientific thought about evaluation methods and their classifications will make it possible to increase the reliability of the estimation results in natural resource and environmental economics.

FACTORS AFFECTING STUDENTS’ SATISFACTION WITH LIBRARY SERVICE QUALITY AT HO CHI MINH CITY UNIVERSITY OF NATURAL RESOURCES AND ENVIRONMENT

The main objective of the research problem is to determine the factors affecting student satisfaction with the quality of library services at the Ho Chi Minh City University of Natural Resources and Environment. In order to achieve the research objectives, set out, the authors conducted a survey of 286 full-time students studying at the Ho Chi Minh City University of Natural Resources and Environment of faculties such as Natural Resources Economics; Environment; Land Management; Geodesy, Maps &amp; Gis; Hydrometeorology &amp; Sea Islands; Water Resources; Geology &amp; Minerals; Information system &amp; remote sensing through prepared questionnaires. The results of testing the hypotheses of the research model have shown that there are 06 factors that have a linear relationship with student satisfaction with the quality of library services at the Ho Chi Minh City University of Natural Resources and Environment is arranged in descending order including Tangible Vehicles; Ability to meet; Reliability; Empathy; Service Capacity and Digital Library. On the basis of the research results, the author proposes some managerial implications to continuously improve the level of student satisfaction with the quality of library services at the of Ho Chi Minh City University of Natural Resources and Environment.

COVID-19 Research and Policy Analysis: Contributions from Environmental Economists

We discuss contributions by environmental and natural resource (ENR) economists to research and policy analysis of COVID-19. ENR economists have a perspective and tool kit that are particularly well suited to this task. The field of environmental economics began as an interdisciplinary endeavor and has since built on its early legacy to assemble a large set of conceptual models and empirical methods that integrate the relevant natural science, market and nonmarket institutions, and human behaviors to inform policies and shape collective action outcomes. We present elements of policy analysis that together form an integrated framework for studying the pandemic and options for controlling it. We highlight particular tools and skills that provide ENR economists with some comparative advantages for researching and analyzing COVID-19 polices, take stock of what ENR economics research has already achieved, and identify important unresolved issues that ENR economists appear to be especially well qualified to address.

The Economic Value of Environmental Services in the Karst Area of Jatijajar Village

Jatijajar Village is included in the Gombong karst area based on the Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Decree No. 3043 K/40/MEM/2014 and was confirmed by the Kebumen Regency Regional Regulation No. 23 of 2012 concerning RTRW of Kebumen Regency. It has the potential value of environmental and ecological services both in the karst area itself and in the non-karst area which is used as a buffer zone. The underground river system provides benefits to the environment around the karst area and even the community as a provider of clean water needs that are perennial/flowing throughout the season. The contingent valuation method is used as an approach in this research. Primary data obtained from field research is used as the main data. The analysis of environmental services used is the willingness to pay technique of individuals for environmental services or resources. Natural resources in the Karst Gombong area of Jatijajar Village have characteristics in the form of direct use, the value of water resources for lowland rice farming and Water resources from underground rivers in the karst area is 15 springs. The total economic value of the potential use of existing resources in the Gombong Karst Gombong area of Jatijajar Village is IDR 87,616,789,519 in one year. The magnitude of this value is the value of natural and environmental resources from the direct use of the availability of natural resources to the community. These values will be lost if the karst area is damaged either from mining activities or changes in environmental functions. Keywords : Karst; Economic Valuation; Natural resource and environmental economics; Total Economic Value.

A Waste Bank Based on the 3R Concept: Student Interest in Waste Management at the Department of Economics, University of Brawijaya

Abstract The establishment of a waste bank could be a social engineering tool for changing the mindset of students. This waste bank can be managed and made useful via the so-called “3R” concept (reduce, reuse, and recycle), which is the main principle used by waste banks. This study aimed to determine students’ interest in managing waste. The sample comprised three classes of students who are enrolled in natural resource economics courses from the Economics and Business Faculty of the University of Brawijaya. Each class has 31 students. Quantitative multivariate research was performed using a Likert scale. Validity and reliability tests were performed for behavioral control and to manage waste variables. Data analysis was used Multivariate analysis, and Bartlett’s test of sphericity was used for significance of the data. Results show that the behavioral control variable was positively correlated with and was influenced by the intention to manage waste or the interest in managing waste. We suggested that waste bank systems—in which waste can be exchanged for food or other products—could be applied in campus environments and that a waste bank should be established in the Faculty of Economics and Business of the University of Brawijaya.

Soviet legacy is still pervasive in health policy and systems research in the post-Soviet states.

We examine how health policy and systems research (HPSR) is produced and funded in 14 post-Soviet states to inform possible strategies to improve the supply and quality of research and advance evidence-based health policy making in these states. Mixed methods. Using mixed methods - secondary data analysis, desk review and in-depth interviews - this qualitative study is exploratory and explanatory.The secondary data analysis involved a comparative analysis of available data from: a) the 'fiscal space' (national economic resources) - using gross domestic expenditure on research and development for the years 2013-2018; and b) capacity for HPSR - using the number of published papers and average citation per paper (as a quality proxy) in the years 2015-2019. To explain the secondary data analysis findings, we used the approach proposed by Hallerberg et al., highlighting the importance of institutional context, actors, and their incentives and influence in budget allocation decisions. The desk review of available documents and 32 in-depth interviews were conducted remotely to obtain insights on the context and actors. The interview transcripts were analysed using Nvivo 12 software with an inductive approach. In all studied countries, except the Baltic states, funding levels for HPSR remain inadequate. Most research and development funding is allocated to fundamental sciences and biomedical research - fields with more influential long-standing institutional legacies. The low volume and poor quality of published HPSR research appears to be adversely affecting the credibility of researchers in this field in the eyes of critical beneficiaries - policy makers, who do not prioritise and advocate for funding of HPSR. HPSR funding in most post-Soviet countries is caught in a vicious cycle of inadequate funding and poor quality. International collaborative projects focused on post-Soviet states and involving science funders, academic institutions and researchers from those countries may help strengthen HPSR capacity, improve research quality and help boost priority funding and the credibility of researchers in this field.

Study of the Effect of Plastic Waste Fibers Incorporation on the Behavior of Self Compacting Concrete

The use of waste and by-products has been for many decades for the manufacturing of building materials such as concrete and mortars. That responds simultaneously to reasons of economy of natural resources in aggregates (C&amp;D waste) and the possibility of recovering industrial waste additions as replacement in composites. The present study focuses on the use of plastic waste fibers embedded in the cement matrix of self-compacting concrete SCC to improve its properties, either rheological mainly, the stability at fresh state or mechanical responses such as compressive and tensile strengths at hard state. This incorporation of plastic fiber reinforcement on the structure matrix could result an alternative SCC composite as a ductile material with enhanced properties. In this context, the self-compacting composites by adding a variable percentage of plastic fibers at 0.5, 1, 1.5% is formulated. Hence, the effect of plastic fibers waste on the rheological and mechanical properties of SCC is assessed. The obtained results in the present study let us to conclude the beneficial effect of such inclusion of plastic fibers on this new confected SCC fiber composition with acceptable rheological, physical and mechanical properties compared to those of a normal SCC concrete.

Northern Sweden and Economic Development

Governments around the Circumpolar world are attempting to ensure the long-term viability of northern economies, generally by supporting the natural resource economy and seeking opportunities to promote “new economy” commercial development. The challenge is formidable, in large measure because few Arctic or sub-Arctic regions have the research capability, highly skilled personnel, venture capital, accessible markets and entrepreneurial drive necessary to compete in the global science and technology-based economy. Communities in Norrbotten County in Sweden have made significant efforts to develop contemporary economic opportunities. This essay considers efforts made by a series of northern centres—Arjeplog, Kiruna, Luleå, Skellefteå and Haparanda—to build jobs and businesses beyond traditional northern economic activities, demonstrating that creative and determined northern regions can compete successfully in the age of rapid technological transformation.

5 - Illicit Capital Flows and Money Laundering in Botswana: An Institutional Economic Analysis

Despite the success story of Botswana’s economy, the country is among other southern African countries that are highly prone to money laundering and illicit financial flows. Botswana has been regarded as one of the global conduits for illicit economic activities. Approximately US$ 1.1 billion and US$ 1.2 billion illicit financial flows were recorded in 2004 and 2013 respectively. However, there is a dearth of literature on the illicit financial flows in Botswana that takes into account the peculiar institutions, transactions and markets in Botswana. This study therefore aims to contribute to the body of literature by using document analysis and an institutional approach to analyse illicit financial flows in Botswana. The results show that over the years, tremendous efforts have been made to respond to money laundering and related offences. However, some deficiencies still remain. It is essential for financial institutions to carry out remedial exercises in their customer due diligence data in order for them to have useful profiles for risk management purposes. Furthermore, inter-agency co-operation and co-ordination should be enhanced and promoted in order to combat illicit capital flows and money laundering.&#x0D; Patricia K. Mogomotsi, Associate Professor (Natural Resources Economics), Okavango Research Institute, University of Botswana. Email: finkymadigele@gmail.com; pmadigele@ub.ac.bw&#x0D; Goemeone E.J. Mogomotsi, Senior Research Fellow (Environmental Law &amp; Policy), Okavango Research Institute, University of Botswana.&#x0D; Wame L. Hambira, Senior Research Fellow (Climate Change Adaptation Economics), Okavango Research Institute, University of Botswana.